Donn Reynolds
Stanley Beresford "Donn" Reynolds (June 26, 1921 – August 16, 1997) was a Canadian country music singer andyodeler most widely known for his Bavarian style of yodeling. Often referred to as Canada's "King of the Yodelers",[1] Reynolds established two yodeling world records. He recorded 38 singles and six albums throughout a performing careerSPANNING over 40 years. Biography With his band as "The Yodeling Ranger" (1937). Early years Donn Reynolds was born in St. Vital, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada on June 26, 1921. His parents, William Reynolds and Ethel Smith, migrated from England to Canada in 1907 after their marriage in 1905. Influenced byHarry Hopkinson (aka Harry Torrani), a popular British yodeler during the 1930s, Reynolds taught himself to sing and play guitar at 10 years of age. He first achieved local notoriety in 1936,WINNING A local radio (CKYWinnipeg) sponsored talentCONTEST. By the age of 16, Reynolds had formed a band performing local clubs and theatres as "The Yodeling Ranger".[2] Military In 1939 Reynolds joined the Canadian Merchant Navy as a Merchant Marine with Canadian Pacific Steamships(CP Ships) based in British Columbia, Canada. He later enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1941 and was subsequently assigned to deep-sea rescue operations in the Northern Pacific Aleutian Islands. During service in the RCAF, Reynolds' vocal talents were discovered by senior officers, often heard singing or yodeling throughout the ship. They facilitated his reassignment to the "Joe Boys",[3] a Canadian military entertainment unit touring throughout Western Canada and Alaska performing for Canadian, American, British and Australian troops where he remained until the end of the Pacific campaign in 1945. With Peter Finch, Grant Taylor, and Sid Hermann on film set of Eureka Stockade (1948). Australia Upon completing his military service, Reynolds moved to New Zealand through an offer to tour the Kerridge Odeon circuit[4] under contract with R.J. Kerridge. Success of the tour extended to Australia in early 1947 including regular performances with the Western Cinemas Company, Goldwyn's Circus, and a later acting role in the Australian film "Eureka Stockade" produced by Ealing Studios. The same year, Reynolds joined Willard (Bill) Ferrier's Famous Hillbillies along with budding Australian artists Johnny Ashcroft, The McKean Sisters, Dusty Rankin, and Billy Blinkhorn. Their shows were the first in Sydney to present a strictly all country music format.[5] Alongside pioneers Tex Morton and Slim Dusty, Reynolds became one of Australia's earliest popular country music recording artists upon his 1947 release of several sides for the Australian Columbia Graphophone Company on the Regal Zonophone label.[6] Gaining popularity around the country, he became known as "Canada's Yodelling Cowboy"[7] and often heard performing on national radio shows such as Bob Dyer's Dude Ranch, Cavalcade with Jack Davey, National Fair, and RAAF Digger Sessions. In October 1948, Reynolds became the voice of Australia's iconic Peters Ice Cream as the "Peter's Singing Cowboy". His signature five tone yodel garnered recognition as a regular feature of the Peters Pals radio show syndicated from Melbourne's 3XY. United States Reynolds headed to the U.S. in 1949 releasing his first American hit single, Texas Yodel on Selective Records which became a Cashbox Bullseye of the Week July 2, 1949. Later that year, he headlined Dusty Ellison's inaugural "Red Barn Roundup" at the Avodon Ballroom, Los Angeles. On September 1, 1950 Reynolds won the "World Open YodelersCONTEST"[8] awarded by Wilf Carter at the Pacific National Exhibition in Vancouver, BC. He later won the 1956 U.S. National YodelingCONTEST[9][10] awarded by Connie B. Gay in Washington DC. From 1950 through late 1956, Reynolds traveled the U.S. working in radio broadcasting while performing on stage and television across the country. Noteworthy appearances included the Louisiana Hayride,[11] WLSNational Barn Dance,[12] WWVA Jamboree,[13] KRLD Big D Jamboree,[14] Hollywood Theatre, WSAZ Saturday Night Jamboree,[15] Herb Shriner's "Two for the Money",[16] Valley View Park (with Roy Acuff), and his own regular TV show as "The TV Rangers"[17] on WGAL-TV. During the summer of 1952, Reynolds recorded sessions with famed western band leader Eddie Cletro for Lariat Records[18] at the famous Radio Recorders studio in Hollywood. He later opened a record shop "The Record Corral" in Cumberland, Maryland specializing in country and spiritual music. With George Morgan, Wesley Rose, Boudleaux Bryant, and Eddy Arnold in recording studio (1957). In late 1956 Reynolds traveled to the U.K., being among the first to record in London's Lansdowne Studioswith British producer Denis Preston. Twelve songs were recorded for EMI under engineering expertise ofJoe Meek with notable backing musicians Jack Fallon (bass), Danny Levan (violin), Sandy Brown (clarinet), and Al Fairweather (trumpet). While living in the U.K. some of his appearances included BBC TV shows BID for Fame", "Fancy Free", "In Town Tonight", "Six Five Special", Radio Luxembourg with Gerry Wilmot, and the lead role as Davy Crockett in the Irish musical, "The Adventures of Davy Crockett". Preston was impressed with Reynolds' talent and soon arranged a record deal with MGM Records in the U.S. Less than one year after arriving in the U.K. Reynolds returned to the U.S. in 1957 for recording sessions in Nashville's historic RCA McGavock Studio underDIRECTION of Wesley Rose (Acuff-Rose). Accompanied by Chet Atkins on guitar, Moon Mullican on piano, and famed ElvisBACKUP singers The Jordanaires, the singles Rose of Ol' Pawnee, Bella Belinda, All Alone, and Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain were released on MGM Records.[19] The singles were well received by Cash Box and Billboard Magazine record reviews while promoted through moderate radio play and touring across the U.S. concluded by a guest appearance on Buddy Deane's Bandstand[20] (WJZ-TV) in December 1957. Europe Upon the release of his earlier EMI studio recordings on the Pye Nixa label, Reynolds returned to the U.K. in 1959 embarking on a European tour[21] of England, Sweden, Germany, Morocco, and Spain headlining performances at the Bavarian Grand Ole Opry, Liseberg Rondo, Circus Sarrasani, El Circo De Madrid,[22] and Victoria Palace Theatre.[23] Four of the EMI recordings were released in the U.K. on the Pye Records EP "The Donn Reynolds Song Bag" followed by four recordings released as singles in Denmark on Metronome Records coinciding with his tour dates there. In March 1960 Reynolds signed withRank Records Ltd.[24] to record his first LP album. Recording sessions began in May with sound engineer John Timperley at London's Olympic Studiofeaturing the industry's first transistorised control desk built by Dick Swettenham. Shortly after, the collapse of Rank Records Ltd. prevented the album's release with all recorded material subsequently being turned over to Reynolds. During a performance in Mildenhall, Suffolk, England, Reynolds met Audrey Williams of the British performing trio, "The Three Skylarks". They married September 17, 1960, in Poulton-le-Fylde, England after which Audrey changed her name to Cindy Reynolds in response to media confusion with another famous Audrey Williams (wife of Hank Williams Sr.). Cindy later parted from The Three Skylarks to travel with Reynolds, combining vocal talents in duet performances during the remainder of his European tour. What was to have been a two-week working honeymoon tour of Spain actually lasted six months as Spanish audiences thrilled to their performances and persuaded the newlyweds to remain in their country several months longer. Reynolds on Cross Canada Barndance (1962). Canada In October 1961 Reynolds returned with Cindy to his birthplace joining the casts of TV shows Cross Canada Barndance[25] (CTV) and Red River Jamboree[26] (CBC) before releasing his previous Rank Records material for the LP "The Wild One" on the Banff label of Rodeo Records in 1962. They settled in Toronto, Ontario in the spring of 1963 and developed a smooth lounge club duet act performing throughout Ontario for several years while recording duet singles as "Donn & Cindy" on London Records and Sparton Records. Cindy gave birth to their first son in 1964. Reynolds returned to the country music charts in 1965 with his single "Afraid" (reaching No. 1 February 22, 1965)[27] followed by his second solo album "The Blue Canadian Rockies" containing singles "She Taught Me How To Yodel" (reaching No. 2 April 12, 1965),[28] and "Lorelei" (reaching No. 4 November 29, 1965).[29] In 1967 Reynolds released his third solo album "Springtime in the Rockies" containing the single "Shut the Door" (reaching No. 36 June 1, 1968).[30] The couple moved to Brampton, Ontario in 1969 where Cindy gave birth to their 2nd son in 1971 and withdrew from the entertainment industry to pursue a successful marketing career. Reynolds performing outside atop the CN Tower(1980). World records Throughout the 1970s, Reynolds maintained a healthy Canadian solo career including performances on TV shows Country Hoedown (CBC), Carl Smith's Country Music Hall (CTV), Don Messer's Jubilee (CBC) and released his fourth LP album "Songs of the West" in 1974. National notoriety paved the way for one of the defining moments of Reynolds' career, which came on November 27, 1976 when he established a world record, yodeling non-stop for 7 hours and 29 minutes (Guinness Book of Records 1976).[31] The accomplishment triggered a surge of Canadian media attention including an appearance on Take 30 (CBC-TV) that saw Reynolds perform outside, atop the CN Tower,[32] The Bob McLean Show (CBC-TV), and U.S. concerts with Claude King in New York. Persistence in the national spotlight inspired Reynolds to release his fifth LP album "King of the Yodelers" on Quality Records in 1979. Dedication to promoting the art of yodeling earned Reynolds his second world record in the Guinness Book of Records on July 25, 1984 when he become the worlds fastest yodeler, achieving 5 tones (3 falsetto) in 1.9 seconds.[33][34] The event was captured on the Canadian television show Pizazz! (Global-TV) and featured in Ripley's Believe it or Not! depicting Reynolds in a cartoon.[35] Reynolds once again found himself amid a stir of media frenzy including appearances on The Tommy Hunter Show, The Alan Thicke Show, Claim to Fame (CTV-TV), Daytime Challenge (CBC-TV), Canada AM (CTV-TV), That's Life (Global-TV), Tempo Ontario (CKCO-TV), performances with Claude King in Brampton, Ontario and with Ronnie Hawkins for the Toronto Musician's Association. Later years By the late-1980s, demand for Reynolds' appearances declined with lack of national exposure or new material. He struggled amidst a country music industry progressing toward more modern sound as promoters offered less work and greater reluctance for his now obscure talent. Reynolds' worldwide fame waned to local popularity and guest appearances, although feature stories and interviews with Reynolds continued to circulate throughout national publications including International Musician, Canadian Composer, Close Up, Country Music News, and Maclean's magazines. In 1987, Reynolds signed with RCA Records, releasing a compilation of his most popular songs titled "Donn Reynolds – King of the Yodelers". The album was promoted through performances across Southern Ontario and the Northeastern US including the Appalachian Jubilee in Pennsylvania, Malton Festival and CKGL Summerfest Jamboree in Kitchener, Ontario. Among later professional appearances, Reynolds frequently starred in the annual Royal Winter Fair at theCanadian National Exhibition in Toronto along with annual performances at the Toronto Musical Festival[36] and Canadian Country Music Hall of FameJamboree. In April 1990, Reynolds became a member of the Masonic Order (Flower City Lodge No. 689)[37] providing greater opportunity to serve the children's charities he passionately supported throughout his career. A brief return to the spotlight occurred June 25, 1990 on the BBC-TV show Record Breakers when Reynolds beat his previous world record for fastest yodel by achieving 5 tones (3 falsetto) in .93 seconds.[38][39] The feat was later broadcast October 19, 1990 on BBC-TV. Donn Reynolds Parkette. As health issues began limiting his ability to travel or perform, Reynolds settled at his home in Brampton, Ontario, Canada with Cindy and their three sons while continuing to work with children's charities. A video documentary highlighting various performances and achievements of Reynolds was entered into the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville, Tennessee while numerous audio recordings were entered into Library and Archives Canada.[40] He died in Toronto on August 16, 1997[1] following complications fromAlzheimer's disease and was interred in the Meadowvale Cemetery in Brampton, Ontario. In 1998, the "Donn Reynolds Parkette" in Brampton, Ontario, was named in honour of Reynolds.[41] In 2002, Reynolds was honoured with a Canada Barn Dance Pioneer Award and inducted into the Barn Dance Hall of Fame.[42] Discography Albums Singles Category:1921 births Category:1997 deaths Category:Canadian country singers Category:American country singers